Strike beards captivate slack-jawed Americans

January 03, 2008
by Hamilton Nolan

As late night talk shows finally returned to the air, a nation numbed by reruns focuses more on the hosts' "strike beards" than on the monologues. Leno returns and delivers his own jokes in violation of WGA rules, raising questions about whether his hack writers will return happy. Meanwhile, forecast for the Weather Channel: slight chance of sale, with $5 billion in showers.

As late night talk shows finally returned to the air, a nation numbed by reruns focuses more on the hosts' “strike beards” than on the monologues. Leno returns and delivers his own jokes in violation of WGA rules, raising questions about whether his hack writers will return happy. Meanwhile, forecast for the Weather Channel: slight chance of sale, with $5 billion in showers.

Focus: Journalism Gripes

Things just aren't like the old days. The industry's value is shrinking! Travel writing sucks! Investigative journalism is dying! And where the hell is my booze?